Eagles
Isaiah 40:28-31
The eagle is a symbol used many times in Scripture, in fact, it is mentioned 38 times throughout the Bible. We can learn some important lessons from this majestic creation of God. Eagles have a wing span of 2 meters and are around 90 cm. tall. The eagle mates for life and uses the same nest for life. This nest is built in a safe place, often on the ledge of a sharp cliff. It is built to last and the largest nest ever reported was 9½ feet wide and 20 feet deep.
When the babies are born, both parents assume
responsibility for their care. They are gentle parents,
sitting on the eggs for one month. The parents bring
food up to the nest and feed them small pieces of
meat. Within 45 days they can weigh nearly 40
times their birth weight. At three months they get
special feathers for flying and a new learning experience begins. The mother eagle flies into the nest and begins to thrash around causing a great commotion. Eventually one of the babies will fall out of the nest and begin heading for the earth below. Never having used his wings before, he’s not really sure what to do, but does do lots of flapping while heading straight down! Just before the baby hits the ground, the mother eagle flies underneath in order to ‘catch’ the baby on her powerful wings and she flies him safely back to the nest. This continues on day after day until all the babies learn to fly.
There are two verses in scripture that actually mention this routine of the eagle. In Deuteronomy 32:10,11 Moses reminds the children of Israel how God cared for them and guarded them just “like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions.” Again in Exodus 19:4 God says that “He will carry the children of Israel on eagles’ wings”.
We can get very comfortable in our ‘nest’. Perhaps that could be our way of doing things, our way of thinking, our opinions, our way of living life. Then when God comes and ‘stirs up our nest’ we get upset. We don’t always identify this as a growing experience. Sometimes if we were really honest, we really don’t want to grow. We get very complacent and satisfied with where we are and any interruptions are viewed as negative. But God wants us to fly – to become all that He intends us to become. He never stirs up our nest without good reason!
it’s time to fly!
Isaiah 40:31
"Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary."
Grace United
Baptist Church
